Prologue of What If
by Silent Cries of the Night
Summary: As stated in the title, it is a prologue for one of my stories. It explains more on my future plot... Only slightly though.


A/n: This corresponds with my story, What if. Read it if you haven't already. It's odd, but funny. Anyways, this is meant to explain a few things about the beginnings of the story and some insight for chapter five of What if. In this small ficlet, I introduce my character, Kinen, who won't make much of an appearance until the Arrancar arc begins, where she'll make most of her appearances in the human world, or Hueco Mundo with Aizen and the Espada, which I will show a lot of, considering my plot... Kinen is the oldest of spirits that will never die... She is the seer of all things and everyone respects her and no one ever questions her intentions...

Edit: Alright, I made a few edits to this, so if you've read it before, you might want to re-read this. I've changed up some things here and there. And pay attention to the song she sings. It's important to the Chapter ten of my Story What if.

Warning: Err... None I think this time…

Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach. But I own Kinen.

* * *

"Ah, ah, ah", an older woman cooed at the small child nestled inside its crib. The child laughed and giggled in delight as the woman leaned over the side of the crib and wiggled her finger down at the baby.

The old woman was dressed in a white kimono with intricate silver designs and black accents. Her face was hardened by her years, which were too many to count. Her long silver hair was pulled back into a braid, which hung over the front of her shoulder where it could be seen. She held a kind smile on her face as she regarded the small child.

The door creaked open and in came Isshin Kurosaki, much younger looking. He regarded the old woman with a curious look as she smiled down at the child.

"Kinen-sama", Isshin said softly to which the old woman looked over at him, "May I ask the reason of your visit? The Soul Society wants nothing to do with me. So why would you come here?"

The old woman, Kinen by name, smirked lightly in amusement. "Isshin, I thought you'd have learnt at least two things in all your years of being a captain", she said with a tut of disapproval, "One, I've told you plenty of times, call me Kinen... Not Kinen-sama... You know how I hate formalities... And two, you should've learned by now that I don't give a damn about what the Soul Society doesn't like... Whether or not you left, I'll still keep tabs on you, Urahara, and Yoruichi... Besides, you always were one of my favorites..."

Isshin leaned against the wall of the nursery. "You didn't answer my question", he said softly as Kinen once more turned her gaze back to the child in the crib, who was giggling once more.

Kinen smiled down at the child and cooed softly. "I'm here to meet your daughter", she said with a smile looking over at Isshin, "I wanted to see the child that will one day be one of the strongest warriors in history, and the child that will forever change the three worlds..."

Isshin walked over and stood by the crib. He smiled gently down at his daughter before picking her up. The little one fussed lightly before relaxing. She reached up with her tiny hand and Isshin met it with his own letting her little fist close around his index finger. He smiled softly down at the small child.

"May I hold her?"

Isshin looked over at Kinen in slight surprise at the request. She normally refused to touch people, so a request like that was odd.

"I thought you hated touching people", Isshin said with a curious look.

"I do, normally", Kinen said with a chuckle.

Isshin gave her one last look of curiosity before handing her the small child. Kinen held the little girl carefully in her arms. The small child giggled softly and held up her little hand again. Kinen smiled and wiggled her finger in front of her little nose. The child made a noise of delight.

"She seems to like you", a voice said from behind the two.

Kinen turned with a soft smile, greeting the beautiful red haired woman behind her. "Masaki-san", she greeted with a nod, "How are you feeling?"

"Better", the orange haired woman said with a kind smile as she walked into the room, "Still a bit tired, but I'm doing better... I wanted to see what you all were up to... Seems Ichigo is being quite entertained..."

"Oh, she is", Kinen said with a smile as she looked down at the small child in her arms, "May as well bask in it while you can... They grow up far too quickly..."

Masaki laughed softly. "Well, I'll go and finish cooking", she said with a smile, "And I'll get Ichigo a bit of food..." With that, she swept out of the room.

Kinen looked back down at Ichigo who giggled slightly before yawning. The old woman smiled softly as she began to rock the child in her arms. "_Hirari hira hira_", she sang softly in a slow melody, "_Maiodoru kage  
aozameta yami jigoku chou  
chigireta hane wa rinkakunakushi  
utsukushiku shi wo uke ireru_

_amai zetsubou ga  
nigai kioku made  
keshisaru you ni  
kyou mo doko ka de  
jigoku chou_

_hirari hira hira hirari hira hira  
sonna ueta me wo shite  
omae wa nani wo miteru no._"

Ichigo slowly fell into a deep slumber as Kinen's voice lulled her to sleep. Kinen smiled down at the small child as she kept humming softly.

"You'd make a lovely mother", Isshin commented to her softly, "Especially if you can calm Ichigo down, who's the worst when it comes to falling asleep..."

Kinen laughed softly before once more staring down at Ichigo. She smiled as laid Ichigo back in her crib. She then bent down and kissed the child softly on the forehead. A dim flash of yellow light flashed on the child's head before disappearing.

"What did you do", Isshin asked in slight alarm, standing up straight.

"Worry not, Isshin", Kinen said with a soft smile looking over at him, "I've given her a gift that will help her in the future... She'll be able to see her future as it comes..."

"Isn't it dangerous though", Isshin asked blinking repeatedly.

Kinen gave a sad smile. "Yes", she said softly, "It is dangerous and difficult... Most people think seeing the future would be a wonderful gift... It's a curse... You can see the future as it comes, but you can never do a damned thing to change it... Ichigo will learn that soon enough..."

Kinen straightened herself and looked at Isshin seriously. "Remember Isshin", she said, her tone filled with authority, "NEVER tell anyone about my coming here... Only those four and you know I'm here... And also, remember, have Urahara bind Ichigo's powers for now... She will not need them for a long time..."

"And when the time comes that she does need them", Isshin asked.

"Then Urahara can unbind them once more", Kinen said with a sharp look.

Isshin nodded swiftly. Kinen then relaxed visibly and let out a sigh. She smiled thinly at Isshin.

"Shall I show her future image to you one last time", she asked.

"Sure", Isshin said with a slight smile.

Kinen nodded and raised her right arm. She closed her eyes and her brow furrowed as she thought of the specific vision she needed. Soon, an image began to appear in the room. Isshin looked on in shock at Kinen's summoning of a vision and making it visible.

The image took on the form of a body, more noticeably a female's body. The figure was dressed in a white Hakama held up by black slash. They also wore a white jacket that was zipped up the front with a small piece at the bottom left open to reveal a bit of the figure's stomach, also opened up in the back held together in a complicated style of fabrics. The figure's feet were donned in black socks and sandals. As the figure's face began to develop, a woman's face was what came into focus. Two small red designs appeared under the left eye. Deep brown eyes stared ahead and bright unruly orange hair stuck out in odd tuffs. The woman stared for a moment with a confused look before smiling brightly and laughing softly before turning and disappearing.

Isshin stared at the spot the image of his daughter once was. "She'll be beautiful", he commented with a soft smile.

"She will", Kinen agreed as she lowered her arm and opened her eyes, "And more powerful than you could ever imagine..." She then stood straight once more. "Well, Isshin, I must be off... I have to get back to the Soul Society... They're going to be trading around people in the divisions soon and I need to oversee that all goes well..."

Isshin nodded. "Goodbye, Kinen-sama", he said with a sad smile.

Kinen smiled sadly back. "Goodbye, Isshin", she said softly, "I'll see you in fifteen years." With that, Kinen disappeared from the room and the human world altogether.

Isshin stared down into the crib at his sleeping daughter. "Sleep, Ichigo", he said softly, "I won't let anyone or anything harm you... You'll always be my little girl... No matter what future you hold..."

* * *

Alright, there it is. Now some more understanding should be brought and a little more confusion and questions begin to seep through. Read this, but you don't have to review if you don't want to on this one...


End file.
